A New Standard

http://www.pnj.com/article/20090721/NEWS01/90721018/-1/archives


The above tidbit was obscured between the murder headlines and mention of assorted vehicular catastrophes, however, I am surprised that more folks are not finding themselves in the midst of an "AH-HAH!" moment.


A few years back, I dragged my kids, my husband, and a family friend we call "Moochie" to Tallahassee to address the House Education Committee on the drawbacks of the current use of standardized testing as a sole measure of ability and accountablity for our students.


The partisan brick wall was difficult to breach, and I was left with "The Governor is Committed to His Education Plan" as though it were some sort of psychotic mantra reverberating in my head. Our own Representative Murzin offered me a sip of the magic Kool-aid while Rapheal Arza (of racist-remark fame) tried to statistic me into oblivion.


One of our Moms pointed out the following phrase: " Education officials are not sure why."


DUH!


And who is to blame?

Not the teachers, they're just doing their jobs. . .their livelihood depends on test scores. The mandates come from administrators nervous about funding who demand that our children acheive the desired numbers. And those demands come straight from THEIR bosses at the DOE.


Come on, DOE. . .POOF! You wanted "standard" students, POOF! You've got 'em.


Congratulations.


Welcome to the effects of No Child Left WIth Any Creative Initiative. . .